In the study, experimental measurements were combined with theoretical calculations to analyze the type and strength of the chemical bond in antimony. "The bond strength depends directly on the distance between the atoms," says Claudia S. Schnohr from the Felix Bloch Institute for Solid State Physics at Leipzig University. The comparison with other materials such as metals and semiconductors shows that this distance dependence is characteristic of the type of chemical bond.
Particularly noteworthy is the proven smooth transition between classic covalent bonds and electron-rich multi-center bonds. Covalent bonds occur, for example, in semiconductors such as germanium. "Our results show that antimony in its stable phase exhibits characteristics of both bond types," says co-author Oliver Oeckler from the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Crystallography at Leipzig University. This has major implications for the understanding of phase change materials, which are used in data storage and thermoelectrics, among other things.
Antimony as a model for phase change materials
"We have studied antimony as an elementary model system for phase change materials. It has a similar structure to germanium telluride, but consists of only one type of atom," explains Claudia Schnohr. These properties make it easier to analyze and compare with other materials in order to better understand their bonding properties.The findings could help to optimize material properties in a targeted manner. "By experimentally or theoretically determining the force constants, new materials can be specifically designed in the future," says Schnohr. This could be particularly useful for applications in electronic storage media and thermoelectrics.
